Heat

We saw that when two bodies are not in thermal equilibrium and are in
contact with each other, the temperatures of the objects changes until equilibrium
is established. Obviously some sort of interaction takes place, and as in all
interactions, something is exchanged between the two systems. That something
is heat. We call the exchange of heat between the two systems heat transfer.
Heat transfer has been shown via experiments by Rumford and Joule to be an
energy transfer between the systems.
We define heat transfer as energy transfer that takes place solely
because of a temperature difference. This does not mean that heat transfer is
the only method of transferring energy. We have seen many examples of other
forms of energy transfer throughout this course. The unit of the quantity of heat
transferred with reference to the temperature change of any particular material is
called the calorie. It is defined to be the amount of heat required to heat one
gram of water from 14.5C to 15.5C. Since heat is really energy transfer, we
can relate the calorie to the joule, and experimentally we find that
1 cal = 4.186 J
What happens when a heat is transferred to an object of mass m? We
expect that the temperature will rise. The amount that the temperature changes
should also depend on the mass of the object; it takes more heat to change the
temperature of a massive object than of a non-massive object. This lets us write

Q = cmT

(78)

where Q is the amount of heat added and c is a constant of proportionality. It

varies from material to material, and is called the specific heat capacity of the
material.
Example:
What is the specific heat capacity of water?
From the definition of a joule, we see that

T
m
1 kcal

1 C
1 kg

4186

J
kg- C

Example:
A 1000 kg car is traveling at 65 m/sec when it hits a tree and comes to a
halt. Assuming that the car is completely made of iron and that all of the energy
is converted to heat, what is the final temperature if the original temperature is
5C?
The energy released in the deceleration was

K 21 mv 2

1
2

1000 kg 65 ms

2.11 10 6 J
If all of the energy is released as heat
Q mc T T0
T T0

Q
mc

5 C

2.11 10 J
1000 kg 470

J
kg- C

9.49 C

Phase Transitions
We have all seen the situation where we fill an ice tray with water, put it
into the freezer and come back later to find the tray filled with ice cubes. How
can we describe this physically? Obviously, from (78) we see that as we extract
heat from the water it cools down until it reaches the freezing point of water, 0C.
However, experience tells us that the water does not instantly change to a block
of ice; rather the change happens slowly. Since the freezer is continuing to
extract heat, what is the work being done by the heat? If we set up an

experiment to monitor the temperature of the ice while it is freezing, we would

find that the temperature does not change until all of the water has changed to
ice. Once the change is completed, the temperature of the ice will again begin to
fall until it reaches equilibrium with the freezer.
The conversion of water to ice is an example of a phase change. The
water has not changed its molecular composition. Rather it has transitioned from
its liquid phase into its solid phase. The amount of heat required to compete a
phase change differs from material to material, and must be determined
experimentally. The amount of heat required is given by
Q = LFm

(79)

where LF is called the heat of fusion. It is the amount of heat required to

convert a unit mass of the material from its solid to its liquid phase, or vice versa.
We expect that the amount of heat required to undergo a phase change from
liquid to gaseous will be given by a relation similar to (79), but there is no reason
for the constant of proportionality to be the same. Indeed, experiment shows that
it is not, so
Q = LVm

(80)

where LV is the heat of vaporization. Finally, under some conditions, it is

possible for a substance to transition directly from solid to gaseous. This process
is called sublimation. Associated with it is the heat of sublimation.
The boiling and freezing points of a substance depends on the pressure
acting on the substance. This leads to the fact that under certain conditions, it is
possible to cool (or heat) a substance below its freezing (or boiling) point and not
have a phase change occur. The liquid is then said to be supercooled (or
superheated). In both cases if an impurity or disturbance is introduced in the
substance, the phase change will occur locally. This is the principle used in
bubble and cloud chambers.
Example:
A restaurant serves coffee in copper mugs. A waiter fills a cup of mass
0.1 kg, initially at 20C, with 0.2 kg of coffee initially at 70C. What is the final
temperature after the coffee and the cup attain thermal equilibrium? Assume
that the coffee has the same specific heat capacity as water.

Let the final temperature be T. The heat extracted from the coffee is
Qc = mccc (T -Tc)
Similarly, the heat absorbed by the mug is
Qm = mmcm (T - Tm)
If we assume that there is no interaction with the outside air, then this is a closed
system, and so by energy conservation Qm + Qc = 0. Thus
0 mc cc T Tc mm cm T Tm

mc cc mm cm T mc cc Tc mm cm Tm
T

mc cc Tc mm cm Tm
mc cc mm cm

0.2 kg 4186 kg-JC 70 C 0.1 kg 390

0.2 kg 4186 kg-JC 0.1 kg 390

J
kg-C
J
kg-C

20 C

67.8 C

Example:
A physics student wants to cool 0.25 kg of soda, which is initially at 25C,
by adding ice initially at -20C. How much ice should be added so the final
temperature will be 0C with all the ice melted? Assume that the heat capacity of
the container is negligible, and the soda has the same specific heat capacity as
water.
The heat to be extracted from the soda is

Qs ms cs Ti T f

0.25 kg 4186

J
kg- C

25 C

2.62 10 4 J

This must equal the amount of heat provided by the ice

Qi mcw T f Ti mLF

m 2000

J
kg- C

m 3.74 10 5

20 C 3.34 10

J
kg

so

2.62 10 J
4

3.74 10

0.07 kg

J
kg

J
kg